Man acquitted in fatal shooting at Edmonton community hall party

One of the men charged in a fatal shooting at a party at the Duggan Community Hall has been found not guilty on all charges.

A man has been found not guilty in a fatal shooting at an Edmonton community hall four years ago.

The judge found the Crown had not proven without a reasonable doubt that the man was involved in the shooting.

Alinur Mohamed Mussa was charged with manslaughter in the death of Hamza Mohamed as well as three counts of aggravated assault and one count of discharging a firearm with intent to wound.

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Mohamed was fatally shot on Aug. 29, 2021 during a party at the Duggan Community Hall.

Six other people were injured.

According to court documents, a person described by investigators as “Shooter 1” fired five shots at Mohamed shortly after 4 a.m.

Three of the shots hit other bystanders, but at least one of the shots hit Mohamed in the back, paralyzing his legs.

Several minutes later, a man named Abdullahi Yalahow began shooting at Mohamed, and Mohamed fired back.

Christopher Wilson then grabbed the gun from Mohamed and fired four shots at him, three of which hit him in the head, killing him.

While the man described as Shooter 1 was captured on surveillance video multiple times at the party, none of the images of his face were clear enough for investigators to identify him.

The Crown alleged that Mussa was Shooter 1 because of DNA evidence collected from a cigarette butt.

Shooter 1 was seen on video smoking a cigarette before the shooting.

DNA collected from a cigarette butt found at the scene showed mixed origin consistent with having originated from two individuals, at least one of whom was male.

A DNA expert determined Mussa was a possible contributor to the mixed profile.

Several other people were also captured on video at the scene smoking cigarettes.

The Crown also alleged Mussa was Shooter 1 because Yalahow made several calls to a phone number tied to Mussa from the Edmonton Remand Centre when he was awaiting trial for Mohamed’s death.

According to the court documents, the recipient of the calls referred to himself as “Ali” in the third person on several occasions and provided responses that suggested he had been present at the community hall on the night of the shooting, including discussions of how the guns were brought into the hall.

In one of the calls, the recipient of the call stated he “left him laying there” and then later, that “when I hit him, I hit him good...” the court documents show.

The recipient of the call also discussed celebrating his birthday on Oct. 10, when Mussa’s birthday is Jan. 1.

In his decision, Justice Eric F. Macklin found that the DNA evidence put Mussa at the community hall on Aug. 29, but it was not conclusive to identify him as Shooter 1.

He also found that while the phone number Yalahow dialed from the Remand Centre had been linked to Mussa, the evidence was not conclusive that Mussa was the one receiving the calls.

“The standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt requires that the guilt of Mr. Mussa be the only reasonable inference to be drawn from the proven facts. It is not. Mr. Mussa is entitled to be acquitted. I find him not guilty on each of the five counts,” he wrote.

Yalahow was charged with first-degree murder and Wilson with second-degree murder in Mohamed’s death.

They were both found guilty of murder on Nov. 10, 2023 after a jury trial.

Yalahow was also found guilty of intentionally discharging a firearm, and Wilson was found guilty of possessing a prohibited firearm.

While Mussa has been acquitted on the charges related to the community hall shooting, he still faces 10 firearms related charges in connection with a shooting at the Ertale Lounge on March 12, 2022.

Police say between 60 and 70 shots were fired early that morning, killing one man and injuring six others.

Mussa will appear in court next May to face the charges.

Two other men have also been charged.